The game will be shown live on Sky Sports 1 as part of their ‘Super Sunday’ coverage. That begins at 12.30pm, as it also covers Newcastle’s game with Southampton. The Liverpool pre-match content, though, starts from 3.30pm.

For highlights, see Match of the Day 2 (BBC1, 10.30pm)

Who is the ref?

Anthony Taylor will be in charge, just as he was back in May, when Liverpool were thrashed 6-1.

Taylor was something of an unlucky omen for the Reds last term as he also officiated on the Reds 4-1 thrashing at Arsenal and 2-1 home defeat to Chelsea along with 1-0 win at Burnley and 0-0 derby stalemate with Everton at Goodison Park. In all, he booked 160 players in 39 matches – a hefty 4.1 per game – and issued nine red cards, including one to Emre Can at the Emirates.

Well, all of them, if May’s game is anything to go by. Mame Biram Diouf, Marko Arnautovic and Jon Walters all enjoyed field days on that occasion, and all are in line to feature again – although thankfully Steven N’Zonzi has moved on to Sevilla. Stoke have also recruited forward Joselu from Hannover, while another Spaniard, Bojan, could make his return after a lengthy lay-off with a knee injury.

Who is their manager?

Mark Hughes, of course. The former Manchester United and Everton striker is starting his third season as Stoke boss, having guided them to ninth-placed finishes in each of the previous two campaigns. The Welshman has masterminded victories over the Reds while at Blackburn and QPR (as well as Stoke of course) in the past.

Any injury news?

For Liverpool, the only absentees will be Daniel Sturridge, who is not due back until next month, and Joe Allen, who injured a hamstring at Swindon last weekend. Otherwise it’s a clean bill of health for Brendan Rodgers’ men going into the new campaign.

Stoke, meanwhile, will be missing influential captain Ryan Shawcross, who could miss the first two months of the campaign with a back injury, and have doubts around the fitness of both Marc Wilson and Marko Arnautovic.

Ok, for 22 minutes, nothing really happened. It was a nothing game, between two teams with nothing to play for. And then Stoke scored five times before half time. By the end, they’d won 6-1, condemning Liverpool to their heaviest competitive defeat since 1962. Steven Gerrard, making his last appearance for the Reds, got their consolation goal, but it was a nightmare send off for the Anfield legend.

Any other memorable meetings from down the years?

Well, seeing as though we will be hearing a lot about a Liverpool thrashing at the Britannia, how about a Stoke hammering?

The Reds’ first visit to the Potters’ new stadium came in a League Cup fourth round tie in November 2000, and ended with an eight-goal victory. Robbie Fowler scored a hat-trick, and there were goals for Christian Ziege, Vladimir Smicer, Markus Babbel, Sami Hyypia and Danny Murphy, too. The Reds went on to lift the trophy in Cardiff three months later, the Liverpool Echo reports.

Any other interesting stuff I should be aware of?

Yeah. Liverpool’s match winner when the sides met at Anfield last season will be lining up in a Stoke shirt on Sunday. Glen Johnson left Liverpool this summer after six years on Merseyside, and after considering a number of offers, eventually joined the Potters on a free transfer. He will join another ex-Red, Charlie Adam, in looking to get one over his former club this weekend. Adam, incidentally, has scored in this fixture in each of the last two seasons.

Charlie Adam to score! Ok, we’re being a bit facetious, but you can still get 5/1 on him to score anytime (Bet365) and 14s on him to score first.

If you prefer positivity, though, Coral will give you 11/2 on Christian Benteke opening his account for the Reds with the first goal on Sunday. The half-time draw/full-time Liverpool bet (9/2 with Bet365) also looks tempting.

Oh, and BetFred will give you 750/1 on a 6-1 victory either way. Obviously.

Fantasy Football tip

Good one, this one. Liverpool are likely to field two teenagers at the Britannia, and both could be useful cheap options for Fantasy Football managers. Jordon Ibe, in particular, could be a shrewd signing, playing as he is on the right of the Reds’ attack. He’s not scored a Premier League goal yet, could Sunday be the day?